Banking inquiry report: Not a case of if, but rather a case of how bad the crash would be

Ireland went over the fiscal cliff in 2005 as a direct result of poor political policies and reckless bank lending, but did not realise the situation until 2008 — when it was no longer a case of whether there would be a crash but how bad it would be.

That was the verdict of the banking inquiry team as it met formally for the last time yesterday to publish its investigation of what caused the economic crash.

Speaking at an hour-long press conference, members said the crash was not caused by any “single event or decision” but rather a series of short-sighted policy decisions, inadequate watchdogs, and reckless bank lending.